How to Bring Common Sense to Xianxia World

"Hello, Patriarch Ximen, Young Master Ximen. How may I help you? Or is there anything you would like to convey to me?" she greeted the two according to their seniority.

Ximen Hong glanced at Alfred, who was standing beside her.

"I have... something that is important to Lady Dream Butterfly. Would it be convenient if you could..." He did not continue, but his eyes said everything. He clearly had something important to say, but he did not want to discuss it within earshot of others.

Dream Butterfly glanced at the butler.

"Alfred, please leave us for a moment."

"Yes, M’lady." Alfred politely bowed. His eyes briefly swept over the father-and-son duo, but he kept all his questions and suspicions to himself before walking out of the garden.

After Alfred disappeared behind the entrance of the garden and Ximen Hong could no longer detect him with his spiritual sense, he immediately dropped to his knees, followed by his son.

"Your Highness!"

Ximen Hong kowtowed toward Dream Butterfly.

"What?! Patriarch Ximen! What happened?! Why are you suddenly...?" Dream Butterfly quickly tried to pull Ximen Hong up, but he did not budge.

The father and son then spoke at the same time.

"Your Highness, please forgive us for our incompetence!"

"What?!"

Dream Butterfly was startled. She had never expected the two of them to suddenly drop such a bombshell on her.

Your Highness? What is the meaning of this? Could it be...?

She remembered what Hua Zuixian had told her about her mother and her birthright.

She had been born as a princess of the Azure Dragon Dynasty, but because of the coup led by the Supreme General Lin Zhendong, she had been stripped of that status.

And honestly, she barely remembered anything from that time.

After she was sold, it was the Matron who took her in and raised her until she became the Dream Butterfly of the Immortal Dream Garden.

Most of her memories were of the training and teachings she received from the Matron. She had learned the art of receiving guests, how to compose songs, how to read people, poetry composition, and even the art of seduction.

Even though the last one had not been of much use until yesterday because of her special physique, she still remembered those lessons far more clearly than the foggy memories of her childhood, when she had enjoyed the treatment of a princess.

She had even wondered if those memories were nothing more than a dream.

If not for her Uncle Hua reminding her of them, she might have already forgotten about them.

"What is this all about? Can you tell me?" she asks. Before she judges, she wants to have the full picture first.

Yes, she knows that the Ximen Clan was one of the old clans that had served the Azure Dragon Dynasty before and had still survived the purge. This means they must have, at the very least, not opposed the new regime.

But the Ximen Clan wasn’t the one that killed her mother, so she didn’t have any hatred toward them. If there was anything at all, she was simply indifferent.

Of course, this clarity was also the result of her foggy memories from childhood. If she remembered the Ximen Clan personally, she might feel differently toward them.

Ximen Hong slowly raised his head, tears streaming from his eyes.

"It was our incompetence, Your Highness... We should have... we should have found you sooner!" Ximen Hong said, his voice trembling with sorrow.

"Okay..." Dream Butterfly lowered herself, trying to be as polite as her current stance allowed before asking,

"Can you slowly tell me what this was about? I can’t give you an answer if you don’t tell me what happened."

Ximen Hong lowered his head, then slowly began telling Dream Butterfly about what had happened back then from his perspective.

During the coup, the Ximen Clan was torn between two decisions: either follow the fall of the Azure Dragon Dynasty and display their loyalty to the new regime, or oppose the new regime.

Back then, Ximen Hong was indecisive and had not yet consolidated his power like he had today.

So, the Ximen Clan decided to do its best to keep to itself while choosing to remain a fence-sitter. That way, they could still survive no matter which side won.

But... Ximen Hong, as one of Empress Long’s confidants at that time, felt that this was nothing short of betrayal, so he decided to do his best to help Empress Long.

He infiltrated the royal palace along with his people, hoping to meet with the Empress and her daughter and bring them out of the palace to flee, leaving an ember for the future resurrection of the dynasty.

But Empress Long refused at that time because her daughter had already been taken hostage. So... she did what she believed was best at the time.

She told the Ximen Clan to surrender to the new regime and find a way to help her daughter flee, leaving the ember of the Long Dynasty for its return in the future.

Ximen Hong couldn’t help but feel conflicted, but in the end, he decided to follow Empress Long’s instructions.

Unfortunately, the moment Lin Zhendong succeeded in capturing the royal palace, the Murong Clan immediately sold the princess to the highest bidder at that time.

Thus, leaving no room for Ximen Hong to bring her to safety or help her escape.

The Ximen Clan tried their best to search for her, but despite all the resources and time the Ximen Clan had invested in the search, she hadn’t been found.

After listening to Ximen Hong, Dream Butterfly fell into thought.

She clearly remembered that Ximen Hao had followed the young master of the Murong Clan at that time to visit the Immortal Dream Palace. Even though she hadn’t served him or met him face-to-face like she had with the young master of the Murong Clan, she remembered that this guy had seen her face.

Dream Butterfly smirked before asking,

"Strange... I clearly remember that Young Master Ximen had visited our Immortal Dream Garden a few times. Even though I hadn’t met him at close range, he had seen my face. And I remember that last night, he might have even mistaken me for my mother." She asked with a teasing grin.

The question made Ximen Hao’s heart nearly leap out of his chest. His heart literally skipped a beat!

Ximen Hong wanted to curse and smack this stupid son of his for his stupidity yesterday. No! He wanted to smack his son senseless, just like he should have when his son was still a useless wastrel back then.

Ximen Hao shook with fear. He didn’t dare to raise his head.

"Your... Your Highness. At that time, I was muddle-headed and only wanted to enjoy myself. I forgot the mission of the clan. Besides, Your Highness had already grown up, and I couldn’t remember you from that time."

"As for last night, the shadow play tricked my eyes and made Your Highness have the same air and the same expression as Empress Long. So, I mistook you for her," Ximen Hao explained.

Hearing the explanation, Dream Butterfly couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Relax, I was just teasing you."

Hearing this, Ximen Hao felt a little better. He had told her the truth. At that time, he was still a typical young master who followed the more capable young master, Murong Wen. He truly couldn’t remember her, as his mind was full of flattery and figuring out how to make himself seem more valuable to Murong Wen.

After all, the Murong Clan was the clan that had chosen to betray the old regime and help Lin Zhendong take the throne. And as the Ximen Clan, which had played the role of a fence-sitter, they hadn’t received much attention and were viewed with suspicion by the new regime. So, he had also done his best to gain more status for the clan.

Or at least... this was the reason he had told himself at the time.

Dream Butterfly, as someone who had learned how to read people, was well-versed in high society and had met many people with power. She knew a thing or two about politics and how to distinguish the truth.

In all honesty, she didn’t believe what Ximen Hong had just told her. All the tears and the sincerity trembling in his voice could easily be put on display, just like a display of combat technique.

For people who were well-versed in politics, controlling their expressions was a necessary skill. They needed it to navigate the web of interests and protect themselves.

The same person could cry and call their enemy a savior, or they could fake their anger toward someone they were indebted to if there was enough incentive.

Besides, she didn’t remember much from that time, and this was the version that Ximen Hong had chosen to tell her.

After all, who would choose to make themselves look like a villain in a story retold by their own mouth?

But since Ximen Hao was her husband’s friend, she decided to give this version of the story a chance.

"It’s really okay. You can stop kneeling. Patriarch Ximen, besides, I don’t remember much from that time, so I don’t feel much about what happened in the past," said Dream Butterfly.